Parsons prefers new Cowboys deal before March

FRISCO, Texas -- If Micah Parsons has his way, a long-term contract extension with the Dallas Cowboys would be worked out before free agency begins in March.

"I'm going to try and work with them as much as possible to help them attack free agency," Parsons said Thursday. "I want to be back with this team. This offseason, I want to be here. I want to get these guys right. I want to take big steps, so hopefully it can be done sooner than later so we can attack the offseason."

Parsons is set to make $21.4 million in 2025 on the fifth-year option the Cowboys exercised on his rookie deal last spring. But the star edge rusher is looking at a massive extension that would make him among the highest-paid players in the NFL.

Parsons reiterated a point he made to ESPN two weeks ago that he does not need to be the highest-paid defensive player in the league, which is currently San Francisco defensive end Nick Bosa at $34 million per year.

"I think I'm the best player in the world. I don't throw numbers out there like that," Parsons said. "I'll see what they're willing to give me."

"It would be nice to be surrounded by good players," he continued. "Players that will help me win championships, I'll say that. To me, having $40 million and being chipped every play and slid into three, four people, that doesn't sound too fun to me.

"So to me, it's about keeping people that can make a difference, and obviously we're going to get Sam [Williams] back, some players back. We'll see how it breaks down, but I want to keep as many guys as possible. They will make the cap work, I don't know."

CeeDee Lamb missed the organized team activities and minicamp last offseason and most of training camp before signing a four-year, $136 million deal in August that made him the second-highest-paid receiver in the NFL.

Dak Prescott became the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history with his four-year, $240 million deal he agreed to hours before the regular-season opener in September.

"For sure, I definitely think I need to be here in camp because honestly when so much of the defense is surrounded by your play, your presence, and others getting lined up based off of you, I need to be here so that way I can get these guys [together]," Parsons said. "We can rush together, build that chemistry. So I think it's extremely important that I'm back at OTAs and minicamp and all those types of things."

Earlier this week on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, owner and general manager Jerry Jones, when asked about the possibility of trading Parsons, said that it had "never been uttered in this organization that we don't have a future with Micah Parsons."

Getting a deal for Parsons done earlier would allow the Cowboys to allocate their salary cap space in a better way. A long-term extension likely would actually lower Parsons' $21.4 million figure. The Cowboys can create roughly $56 million in cap space by reworking the deals of Prescott and Lamb, but they do not believe in signing high-priced free agents.

They do have several key free agents, including defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, cornerback Jourdan Lewis, defensive end Chauncey Golston and running back Rico Dowdle.

Parsons did not put an ultimatum on talks.

"I can't go up to [executive vice president Stephen Jones] and say, 'I want to get paid here,'" Parsons said, "but our door's open. My people know that."